Audi lightens up with gen3 sports coupe

Audi revealed its third generation TT coupe at the Geneva Motor Show last week. Set to arrive early next year, the new Audi TT's exterior styling is an evolution of the existing design, with the biggest gains coming in technological advances.

Up front the new TT is dominated by horizontal lines with a single-frame grille that is broader and flatter, with a powerful line dividing it into two zones. Starting in the top corners of the grille, sharp contours run in a V across the hood, which bears the four Audi rings - as on the Audi R8 high-performance sports car.

The air intakes feature struts that direct part of the flow away from the front to the flanks.

At 4.18m, the coupe is almost exactly the same length as its predecessor, though its wheelbase has grown by 37mm to 2505mm, making for especially short overhangs. It is 1832mm wide, and has the same height as the previous model of 1353mm.

Monumental gains have come in weight savings. With a steel and aluminium body, the new TT has dropped 50kg and weighs just 1230kg.

Sports seats, which sit lower, have integrated headrests and are standard across the line-up.

Audi TT 2014

Instead of the conventional analogue displays the new TT has the Audi virtual cockpit on board - a fully digital instrument cluster which Audi says sets new standards with its dynamic animations and precise graphics.

Drivers can choose from two display modes: In the classic view, the speedometer and rev counter are in the foreground; in "infotainment" mode, the virtual instruments are smaller, the resulting free space giving ample room for more functions such as the navigation map.

In the Audi TTS there is a third, sporty mode. Here, the centrally positioned rev counter dominates the display.

The boot has increased in size, up 13 litres to 305 litres.

There are 11 exterior colours, one of which is exclusively for the S line. Seven of the colours in the range are new for the TT, and two of these are completely new for Audi: Nano Gray and Tango Red. There are also two additional paints available for the TTS - crystal-effect Panther Black and Sepang Blue.

At this week's launch, the TT was revealed with three turbocharged four-cylinder powerplants - two petrol and one diesel.

The 2.0 TDI will be available with manual shift and front-wheel drive. It delivers 135kW and torque of 380Nm. It can accelerate from 0km/h to 100km/h in 7.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 235km/h. Average fuel consumption is 4.2 litres per 100km, which translates into CO2 emissions of 110g/km.

The 2.0 TFSI is available in two versions - a 169kW version for the TT and a 228kW version for the TTS.

Audi TT 2014

In the Audi TT, the 2.0 TFSI delivers torque of 370Nm from 1600-4300rpm. It accelerates the coupe - which has a six-speed manual transmission and front-wheel drive - from 0km/h to 100km/h in 6.0 seconds, and on up to an electronically governed top speed of 250km/h.

On the version with six-speed S tronic and Quattro all-wheel drive, the sprint from 0km/h -100 km/h takes 5.3 seconds with a top speed of 250km/h.

Fuel consumption of 6.8 litres per 100km and CO2 emissions of 159g/km.